Students ready to walk, ride & roll

There may be a few more kids than normal walking or rolling to school Wednesday.

After all, students in the Lake Pend Oreille School District are taking part in the annual International Walk and Roll to School Day. It is, LPOSD Safe Routes to School coordinator Erin Billings said, both a chance to encourage students to get out and be active and get drivers in the habit of being on the lookout for students heading to and from school.

In taking part in the annual walk, LPOSD students are joining those from around the country and across the globe in the event. Joining them in the walk are area parents, teachers, and community leaders and partners.

"Students are encouraged to select a safe route to walk and roll to school with family and friends," Billings said.

Where walking to school is not an option, students will be participating in a walk AT school event during PE or recess. 

Walk to School Day groups will begin their journey to school at about 7 a.m. from designated school neighborhood locations. School buses will make special Walk to School Day drop-off stops en route to allow student bus riders the opportunity to participate. Student walkers should arrive at school no later than 7:50 a.m. Walk AT school participants are asked to walk laps around the playground before the morning bell and during recess breaks.

Families should obtain information about their specific school activity from their school office, including adult volunteer opportunities, drop-off locations, permission slip requirements, and designated walking routes. LPOSD schools taking part in walk to school events are Kootenai, Washington and Farmin Stidwell elementaries.

"Walk to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment," Billings said. "The event builds connections between families, schools and the broader community."

Those taking part in the walk are encouraged to wear brightly colored clothes or reflective items, avoid distractions while walking, use sidewalks where available, and make eye contact with drivers when crossing the roadway. Walkers also are advised to only cross at intersections. 

Motorists are asked to be aware of and extra cautious on the day — as well as times when students might be headed to and from school — of the smaller pedestrians.

LPOSD has been taking part in the annual walk since 2003, working to increase awareness of the need to create safer routes for students to get to school. According to walkbiketoschool.org, 203,000 children ages 15 and younger were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009; 15,000 of those injured were pedestrians. Therefore, according to the website, priority must be placed on making it possible for everyone to walk safely, especially in neighborhoods and school zones.

The event also emphasizes the importance of increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, and concern for the environment, and builds connections between families, schools, and the broader community.

Sponsored by the Partnership for a Walkable America, the first walk took place in 1967 in Chicago. The National Walk for Our Children to School Day was modeled after similar events in the United Kingdom. Since then, schools throughout the United States have held "walk and roll" events. The event became international in nature when Canada and the United Kingdom joined the U.S. celebration.

More than half of the events are part of an ongoing effort to promote walking and rolling — such as bike riding, rollerblades and scooters — throughout the year, Billings said. 

In 2006, widespread interest in that effort led the International Walk to School Committee to create Walk to School Month, giving schools and districts the choice to pick a day, a week or the entire month to promote walking to school.

To join a walking group, RSVP with Billings at erin.billings@lposd.org or 208-263-2184, ext. 1124.